The Lula City Council approved, on Monday, a rezoning request, with Mayor Milton Turner casting the tie-breaking vote, that allows for the operation of a truck terminal on approximately 17.1 acres at Mountain View/Highway 365.

In a rare occurrence, Turner made the decision to go along with two council members to approve the rezoning request from Tony McGuire to change the property from Highway Business to Light Industrial. Two council members opposed the move and one council member was absent from the meeting.

McGuire currently operates a trucking business in Gainesville with 16 trucks and 32 trailers. McGuire said his office hours would be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.
Several residents of The Hill at Mountain View subdivision spoke out about their traffic concerns with a trucking business locating on this site.

Tina Kolhagen said she was concerned with inter-mingling the big trucks with the residential traffic.

Mountain View resident Abbey Carr also spoke out about her traffic concerns.

McGuire told the group of approximately 20 people gathered at the public hearing Monday afternoon, prior to the council meeting, that most of his trucks would not be at the terminal they would be on the road.

McGuire also told the residents that he would also coordinate the use of both the north and south entrances onto Highway 365 to help alleviate congestion coming onto Highway 365.

Jimmy Henderson voice concern about the operating hours for the business.

“Will you have trucks coming in at 2 a.m. honking the horn?” Henderson asked.

McGuire said on an average day there would be 3-4 trucks leaving the terminal.

“And they better not be honking the horn,” McGuire said.

The council also unanimously approved the Highway 365 Overlay, which includes development standards in addition to conditions imposed by the rezoning, for the proposed project.

Lula City Manager Dennis Bergin said McGuire’s property would be heavily buffered to block the truck terminal’s view from the homeowners.